Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate Community Fund Celebrates 15 Years
Charitable Giving Continues to Increase Company-Wide Thanks to Fund

San Francisco, CA – The San Francisco Community Fund at Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate has turned 15. What started in 1992 as a grassroots effort by civic-minded agents at Pacific Union to get their colleagues involved in meaningful ways to share with the community has blossomed into a giving-machine of sorts for the Bay Area brokerage.
Original Board Members Susan Peterson and Steve Gothelf, both longtime Pacific Union agents, have unified the charitable donations for the firm’s three San Francisco offices and created a systematic procedure for awarding gifts to needy organizations each year. The San Francisco Fund’s success inspired both the Marin and East Bay Pacific Union offices to start similar Community Funds.

“It’s easy for agents to routinely make a contribution to the Fund at the close of each escrow,” said Peterson, who has worked from Pacific Union’s Opera Plaza office for the past 16 years. “Every individual contribution has a collective impact in the community.”
Thanks to the support and donations of agents company-wide, Pacific Union corporate, and the onsite mortgage lender Union Trust, the number of organizations receiving grants continues to increase. Between 15 and 20 locally- based non-profits will receive donations from the San Francisco Community Fund in early 2008. Grants are awarded annually during the first quarter. Since 1993, generous contributions have helped numerous charities.

“We try to give to a broad spectrum of programs that serve the needs of children and teens, victims of domestic violence, families, seniors, population groups in need of housing, and a variety of healthcare interventions,” said Gothelf, who works from the firm’s Presidio headquarters. “When we created the Community Fund our original focus was to support housing-related needs, and while this is still key, we have expanded our scope considerably.”

To participate in the fund, agents commit to donating a dollar amount from each completed property sale transaction. Board members of the Community Fund then allocate dollars according to the proposals for grants they receive from San Francisco organizations.

Many groups have received gifts from the San Francisco Fund over the years, including Dolores Street Community Services, Homeless Prenatal, Huckleberry Youth Programs, La Casa de las Madres, SF Child Abuse Prevention Center and Raphael House. The Marin Community Fund, which includes five Pacific Union offices, awarded more than 30 grants last year to groups such as the Family Service Agency of Marin, Marin Advocates for Children and other health, arts and environmental nonprofits. The East Bay Montclair Community Fund is a big supporter of Think College Now and Rebuilding Together Oakland.

"Steve had this idea to give back to the community and recruited some agent volunteers to be Fund board members", said Peterson, the current San Francisco board chair.  "The Pacific Union Community Fund evolved as a way to join sales agents in supporting areas of need in San Francisco."

Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate – Opera Plaza

Live. Work. Play. Invest. Pacific Union Opera Plaza is located in heart of the vibrant arts, theater and cultural district in the center of the City. Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate has been thoughtfully matching generations of buyers and sellers in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1975. As a leading, locally managed real estate company with knowledgeable, experienced real estate professionals, Pacific Union focuses on a global vision, using technology and superior service to deliver a quality experience to all types of clients. Pacific Union is a member of Christie’s luxury real estate network and is a GMAC Home Services company. For information, call 415.474.6600 or visit www.pacunion.com/operaplaza.